A variety of features known as enhanced subscriber services are available from a local telephone company to increase the usefulness of a telephone to subscribers. These features include multiple phone lines, distinctive ringing, speed calling, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, etc. Special services, such as custom features for individual telephone subscribers, are also becoming increasingly prevalent and increasingly important in the modern generation of program controlled switching systems. Such custom features include abbreviated dialing lists, allowance of access to a toll network, allowance of access to special private lines, special billing, allowance of access to services provided by intelligent peripherals, and allowance of access to intelligent networks. On a standard telephone serviced through the public switched telephone network (PSTN), data describing these features are recorded in a feature data block associated with the subscriber's base telephone account in the telephone exchange to which the subscriber's base telephone is connected.
A base telephone line or port account is an account assigned to a specific customer of the PSTN; an example of such an account would be an account to which telephone calls associated with a specific telephone line are charged. The PSTN is the aggregate of all instrumentalities providing and managing telephone call connections between members of the public at large, but excluding instrumentalities that are restricted to special groups of users; e.g. PBX's, Centrix's, etc. The local exchange consults the recorded data to determine what service features should be provided to calls originating from and terminating on the subscriber's base telephone account
For enhanced services managed by a local PSTN provider, the base telephone port is charged for all services invoked in the name of the that port. An authorized user, or subscriber, may change the services by dialing a customer service operator for the local telephone company and communicating whether the enhanced features and services should be modified, if applicable, subscribed to, or unsubscribed from the terminal port account. An authorized user of a home base telephone is either a customer to whom the account is charged or a party authorized by the customer to use and modify telephone services to which the account is subscribed. For subscribing to individual or blocks of features, the local telephone service providing calls on a standard telephone line through the PSTN typically charges surcharge fees for each adding service and charges a subscriber a flat monthly fee for subscribing to each service. A standard telephone service is a telephone service delivered to end users of telephone services through communication routes entirely internal to the PSTN.
Internet phones are currently entering the market, making it possible to talk to one or more remote parties over the Internet A subscriber can use a personal computer (PC) or a service provider's custom-built Internet telephone and associated computer to call anyone through the Internet either fully through the Internet or in an Internet-to-PSTN configuration. PSTNs and private carriers have also installed Internet telephony servers to route telephone calls over data networks, such as the Internet. The technology offers cost-effective alternatives to traditional long distance calling. It also offers enhanced subscriber services similar to a traditional telephone. User use of an IP network for telephony could even be mandated through customer programming of PBX networking features. While in the past proprietary solutions prevented some Internet phones from communicating between users having different software, the emergence of H.323 standard has provided a foundation for audio, video, and data communications across IP based networks, such as the Internet. Enhanced, or extended, telephone services are also available for Internet telephone subscribers. Enhanced services may be combined between the two different systems, inside the PSTN network and outside the PSTN through an IP network.
The problem with current subscriber systems is that no provision is made in the system for the subscriber to modify services and phone numbers associated with a base telephone port account for only certain time intervals, or on a repeated allocation of time as the services are needed. Services must typically be either fully subscribed to or fully unsubscribed. No provision is made for part-time subscription and part-time billing of enhanced services. Many subscribers only need services on a part-time basis but must pay for a full-time subscription, therefor paying for services they do not need.